Back to Where We Started From (Miracle)

Chapter Forty-Two

Julia woke up the next morning to her aunt pushing her hair from her face and saying her name softly.

"Hm?" Julia groaned, her eyes slowly fluttering open.

"I made breakfast, sweetheart. Your favorite," Patti told her with a smile. Julia raised one eyebrow, looking at her aunt suspiciously.

"French toast?"

"With blueberries and powdered sugar," Patti confirmed. Julia smiled, sitting up in bed. All of a sudden, she noticed a comforting smell and glanced down, realizing she was still wearing Jack's sweatshirt. Patti followed her gaze, looking at the sweatshirt with a sly smile.

"And here I thought you didn't like Boston University," Patti teased. Julia couldn't help the blush that flooded her cheeks.

"I don't. I just tolerate Silky, Jimmy, Rizzo, and Jack," Julia assured her aunt with a smile. Patti laughed with her niece, before she turned more serious and took Julia's hand in her own.

"Are you okay, Julia? Do you want to talk about what happened last night?"

After Jack had dropped her off last night, Patti had tucked Julia into her bed, the two of them not speaking much. Julia had kept Jack's sweatshirt pulled up close to her face to breathe in the scent as she tried to relax. Once she was alone in her bed, she hadn't felt nearly as calm as she had with the boys. It had taken her too long to fall asleep, constantly plagued with the feeling of David's hands on her. Thoughts of everything that could've happened ran through her mind while she tossed and turned into the early hours of the morning.

"I'm okay," Julia told her aunt, but even as she said it she knew it didn't sound convincing. "I'm just surprised he did that."

"I know. I thought he seemed like a sweet boy," Patti agreed. The two of them were quiet, both of their minds racing. "I can't tell you enough how proud I am of you, sweetheart. Your uncle is too."

Julia looked up, giving her aunt a half smile. Patti could tell that Julia wasn't grasping how happy everyone was with her.

"It takes a lot to walk away from that, and to stand up for yourself. It shows a lot of maturity on your part," Patti continued. Julia squeezed her aunt's hand.

"Thanks, Aunt Patti. I really thought everyone was going to be mad. I shouldn't have been in that position anyway," Julia sighed.

"I don't think you're ever going to get away from it, especially when you go back to California. The best you can do is exactly what you did last night. Although, walking through campus in the dark isn't ideal," Patti told her.

"I thought I was closer," Julia admitted with a smile. "I definitely didn't think it was forty minutes."

"It was forty minutes?" Patti asked, her eyes widening. "You're going to get sick."

"I'll be alright. The boys took pretty good care of me," Julia promised. "Now, French toast?"

Patti smiled, standing up and pulling Julia up with her. The two of them walked downstairs to see Herb, Kelly, and Danny already seated at the table, piling food on their plates.

"Did you leave me some?" Julia cried, hurrying to the table to help herself.

"Yes, don't worry," Herb rolled his eyes.

"Can we have my favorite breakfast tomorrow?" Danny asked, shoving a forkful of French toast in his mouth.

"We'll see," Patti told him as she sat down for breakfast.

"Are you going to the game today?" Herb asked his niece. She nodded between bites of French toast.

"I wanna come! Is David taking us?" Danny asked excitedly. Julia froze, while Patti and Herb shared a worried look. Julia took a deep breath, before she put her fork down and looked at her cousins.